The Prince's Theif
by Midnyt
Summary: Max has a dark past and an even darker future, but when she saves a small girl from an unpleasant fate, will she change her own? I'm bad at summaries; can you just read the story please?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I haven't written in a while, because no one liked my stories, well, as usual, this was not originally a fanfiction, so please inform me of any mistakes or OCness. I know that in this she has green eyes, but that's relevant to the story, I promise. This is my first fantasy story, so help me out and review please.**

The Prince's Theif

Chapter One

From the branches of the tall hazel tree, fourteen year old Max overlooked her kingdom. The village was bustling in the early morning light of a new day. The girl watched over the village, a slight frown touching the corners of her lips.

Her eyes were focused on a small gathering in a side street by one of the taverns. It seemed to be several of the more rugged citizens of Baneshwar surrounding a much smaller—and much better dressed— figure. The girl's eyes flashed as she realized that the figure was a young maiden and the surrounding rugged ones were all men.

Max walked with purpose out on a branch that was much too small to hold the weight of even a small toddler, much less that of an almost grown woman. But the limb did not so much as bend, much less break in two. It was almost as if she was walking on nothing at all. If a skilled eye however, was to look closely enough, they would see that she was stepping on the air currents at the exact spot where the air became thicker to avoid the tree. If one had the gift to see the air itself, they would find that it look quite like when a leaf is going down a water current that encounters a bolder, the leaf will go around the bolder much like the air goes around the branch.

She moved at a constant pace until she reached the end of the thin limb. Her pace slowed for a split second before she closed her eyes and jumped.

Her cloak stuck to her sides by an unseen force. Her landing was seemingly light; no bystander would ever notice the slight wobble that went up her legs as she landed more heavily than intended. Once her stockinged feet hit the ground, she took off running.

Bolting past trees as she neared the edge of the village she pulled up the hood of her cloak and fastened it in place, never slowing her pace. She knew the kingdom like she knew the five easiest ways to pickpocket a nobleman. With her knowledge of politics and her general knowledge of the village and its surroundings themselves, it was often said—when she was younger—that she would have been better born as a princess with noble rank than a scullery maid's daughter. She would hate it if people bowed and she certainly wouldn't wish for the attention it would bring when she was in a hurry.

The cloak had become a necessity for her when she turned seven. She was following a thief down the village's main road, but her bright emerald green eyes had brought unwanted attention. She ended up loosing the thief and her father had scolded her. The cloak now did its job, using its dark fabric to shield her face from the citizens who were far too familiar with it.

With the cloak, no light shone on her eyes so their bright green color was almost completely masked. She had grown her hair out for this purpose as well, though presently it was a nuisance, whipping to and fro in the harsh wind, hitting her cheeks and turning them pink.

She darted across roads and walkways, ducking her head and shielding her face when she passed a group of palace guards. At the time, Max paid no mind to the fact that these palace guards were not at the _palace._ She continued to run until she reached her desired location. Her breath had hardly picked up and she had yet to break a sweat. Most people would have difficulty breathing—much less walking—after running half a village's distance at top speed, but that was one of the few things Max could do before she was learned in the art of Magic.

Max sauntered up lazily behind the dirty men in the alleyway. "Excuse me," she spoke with a commanding voice, "what business do you men have here?"

A few of the men jumped, while others flinched from the harshness of her voice, believing her to be a guard. The man in front of the girl pushed her aside to shield her from sight. Peering over their shoulders a few of the men began to smirk, nudging the others to take a look. "Well, w'at do we 'ave 'ere?" One of the men asked, flashing his yellow teeth at Max. "You lost, boy?" this was a common mistake, because Max wore trousers and her cloak shielded her face, she was often thought to be a man.

Max squared her shoulders, anticipating the fight ahead, "No, I haven't lost my way, but it seems you have. What business do you have here?" she asked again. Adrenaline flowed through her veins as the man frowned and adjusted his footing into a more convenient kicking position.

"Boy," the man's weight shifted and Max's eyes narrowed, "you 'ad best run along, you 'aven't any idea w'at you're stepping into." When she didn't move the man lunged, arms outstretched, pushing the whole of his weight at Max, who easily dodged the attack. The man fell full on his face, blood running down his face as he rose to attack again, anger fueling his fists as he punched Max in the stomach. Sucking in at the pain Max used the momentum of the punch to flip backwards successfully kicking the man's bloody face in the process.

By this time, a few of the other men had stepped forward to aid their leader, who welcomed the assistance with open arms, which were now heading toward Max ready to tackle her to the ground and break her open. She sidestepped the beefy men, who was too large to maneuver him as quickly as Max and relied solely on his bulk and muscle. Maneuvering around his large body, a few of his cronies had come at Max, swinging their fists wildly. Avoiding them as best she could, Max got around their arms—taking a few hits—and close enough to their bodies to locate and press the pressure points that could paralyze large men.

With the cronies out of the way, Max turned back to the man she had originally been fighting, he grinned at her a disgusting grin of yellow teeth stained with dark red blood. A large plank of wood came swinging at her head, she noticed it with barely enough time to duck, but she wasn't quite quick enough, the wood grazed the top off her head, but Max paid it little mind, focusing on the task at hand.

The man, thinking that he had disposed of his opponent once he felt the board connect with her head, had turned to his companions, raising his fist in triumph. Max, becoming bored with the brawl, kicked the man's legs out from under him and pulled the knife out of his pocket, placing the cool blade against his neck. Digging the steel into his jugular she asked him if he would surrender. The man agreed; anything to get the knife away from his neck.

Max released the man, pocketing his knife and going to the small girl who had been watching, horrorstruck, from where she had fallen when the man had released her.

Crouching down to the girl's eye level Max stretched her hand out to the child, "Are you okay?" She asked. The child stretched her arms out and tackled Max into a hug, her hood falling off to reveal a mass of golden curls. Silent tears flowed down her face as she clutched at Max's cloak. "Shh, it's okay," Max attempted to sooth the child, hesitantly wrapping her arms around the girl's small waist.

"Thank you, thank you for saving me," she sobbed into Max's soaked cloak, Max awkwardly tried to pull the girl away from her dirty clothes, but she held fast.

"See here girl," Max said in a soft but firm voice, "you can't cling to me all day; you'll soil your clothes and anger your mother." Max smiled as the girl hesitantly released her grip around Max's neck. "Come on, that wasn't hard, now hurry home before someone starts to worry." She shooed the girl off, who merrily skipped down the ally, her spirits lifted.

When she was at the end of the side-street, she turned and called out to Max, "You come too; come to dinner as repayment for saving me." Max hesitated, about to refuse the offer, but her stomach ached for food, so she nodded and caught up with the girl, who slipped her hand into Max's and strolled along in front of her, guiding her to an unknown destination.

**End of chapter one! Fang will be in the next chapter, I promise! So, what did you think? Review please. To be honest, if no one likes this, I might just continue it the way I was originally writing it (as a nonfanficton) so it's up to you guys whether you want to read more.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I know I'm a day late, but you try sneaking onto a computer while your dad works on it, for hours. I have a short attention span—so I fell asleep.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews and PMs, for they person who asked if I was a middle-aged mother, the answer is no, I am thirteen, and not a mother, I have no idea where you got that idea…**

**Anyway, welcome to my story, prepare to be confused by my strange mind. **

Chapter Two

The girl gently tugged on Max's hand; urging her to go faster. Max complied, matching her speed with that of the girl. "My name is Angel, by the way."

This, of course, didn't surprise Max; it was a common title after the King remarried a noble woman with a daughter by the same name **(A/N if anyone has trouble understanding my insane writing style, just tell me. I can translate/clarify as needed).** "What do people call you?"

Max felt uneasy giving her birth name to anyone, child or otherwise. This feeling intensified as the girl—Angel—led her to the richer part of the town, overlooked by the Royal castle itself. This wouldn't be the first time she used a different name; there was a group of school children in the Diamond District who knew her only be the title "_Keeper_." But that didn't seem and appropriate alias to satisfy Angel.

She thought back to the tree from which she had first spotted the child, "My name is 'Hazel,'" she told Angel, who grinned up at her trustingly. An odd feeling began to kindle in the pit of Max's stomach; she felt guilty for lying to the girl, but, then again—she couldn't very well tell the truth.

Max's family didn't exactly have the best reputation, if wasn't by the fault of Max, of even her father—Jeb. The blame lay almost entirely with her brother, Ari. Ari didn't have the best reputation to begin with, but he brought Max and her father into it when he gambled his way to empty pockets, then no pockets at all, leading his endebtors to their house in his unclothed state, having nothing more to give. Their father died that night. They were no longer permitted to reside in their home and Max never spoke to her brother again. They went their separate ways and haven't seen each other in twenty seasons.

Angel continued to lead Max through busy streets, people giving Max disapproving looks. She was suddenly aware that she hadn't bathed in a good while. Max ducked her head, her hair moving to shield her eyes and face.

Max was led on and on, closer to the castle. They encountered more people the farther they went, several carriages almost flattened Angel—who had stepped off the walkway too early—before Max came to her senses and pulled Angel back by their joined hands. Angel looked back at Max and smiled, her curly blonde hair bouncing around her face as she did so, before pulling Maxis hand and taking them both into the Noble Circle.

All of these houses sowed over them with windows as tall as Angel and as many chimneys as Max had years. This was the richest neighborhood in all of Baneswar, the houses curved in a crescent moon surrounding the propionate structure of the Royal Castle.

Max tried to dig her heels in as Angel continued to pull her foreword. _Toward the castle_. Max bit down on her lip, Angel was probably the daughter of a maidservant, but she still didn't want to enter the building before her. It felt wrong. She didn't belong.

Angel glanced back at Max, smiling still and tugging on her arm, urging her forward. "Come on Hazel, the food's hot and the baths warm." Max's eyes widened, even though she did need a bath—desperately—that was just too much, she didn't want to take advantage of the little girl's kindness. It would put her parents out enough to have another mouth to feed, much less having to spare the water for another bath.

Even if they did live in the castle, a maidservant's pay isn't much. "Angel, I agreed to a meal, and nothing more," Max reminded the child, who frowned.

"But Hazel, you simply must stay the night, that involves a nightly bath, does it not." She was sleeping there tonight now too? She opened her mouth to protest, but Angel's face began to change, her mouth drooping and her eyes going wide—resembling a baby dear—her lower lip quivered.

Max's resolved died instantly and she sighed, "aright, but just for the night. I shall leave come morning," she warned. Angel's entire face lit up as she nodded frantically and pulled Max through the large double doors of the castle.

**(A/N I was going to stop there, but I promised I would put Fang in, and it came a day late, so…)**

Angel's grip on Max's hand tightened as Max's eyes adjusted to the light of the indoors. The entryway alone was magnificent, draperies hug from the ceiling all along the hall, and a family tree adorned the far wall that branched on either side into other hallways leading to places Max could only imagine.

Max was led down hall after hall and up at least three flights of stairs before Angel came to a dead stop in the middle of a grand hall. She did this so suddenly that Max, who had been keeping up with her fast pace with no trouble, didn't have time to slowdown before she rammed straight into a hard wall.

Except there was something strange about this wall.

It was breathing.

**Yeah I know, cliché ending. We all know who that was. Sorry it was so short but sneaky typing is not as easy as I thought it would be. The next one will be a lot longer to make up for this, it was kind of a filler. CREATIVENESS CANNOT BE PUT ON A TIGHT SHCEDULE! Reviews make me happy. THIS WILL GET BETTER! I promise *hold out pinky* if I break this promise you may break my pinky, although I'd prefer you didn't….**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I'm going to try to make this one fairly long, but I give no promises. I feel the need to say that **_**Keggy and Heggy**_** is my new favorite person—even if it is two people—because they left the most amusing review I have ever read. But I only have 12 so that's not surprising…**

**So yeah, even if you have nothing to say, or hate the story, I like reviews, relevant or not. **

Chapter Three:

Max stumbled back away from the breathing wall before a strong hand flashed out and grabbed her forearm to steady her. Her eyes shot up, connecting with a pair of deep obsidian orbs.

"I'm sorry," Max apologized as she stepped out of the boy's grip. He had dark hair that matched is attire; he was taller than Max by several inches. Max looked at his face puzzled by the familiarity she saw there. It was almost as if she had seen him a lot during her child hood, but not recently so his features had changed, his face aged, and his height grown.

The boy nodded at her before turning his attention to Angel, "Where have you wandered off to this time? We sent out search parties for your kidnappers." Max was fairly certain that he wasn't being entirely truthful with that statement. (A/N that's medieval talk for, he's being sarcastic.)

Angel grinned up at him, "Did you really? I was out in town, that's where I met Hazel here," she gestured at Max, "she will be joining us for dinner and staying the night in the guest quarters."

The boy looked up at Max who held his gaze as he looked her over, no doubt noticing her shaggy cloths, oily hair, and unwashed face. "Are you certain that is your wish, Angel?" He asked, still eyeing Max who gave him an exasperated look, knowing exactly what he meant by that comment.

"Yes brother, I'm positive," _They were siblings? _Max thought, looking between the two. They looked nothing alike, golden haired Angel in her peach sundress, looked nothing like the raven haired boy dressed entirely in black that she claimed to be her sibling. But Max wasn't about to judge, she and her brother were very different people as well.

"Tell me Hazel," her name was like bile on his tongue, "how did you come to be in the castle?"

Max thought back to the quarrel that had ended up in her following Angel to her home, tat didn't need to be mentioned. "We met each other near the Market Place," which was not entirely false, "she asked me to dinner at her home and I agreed. She dragged me through the entire kingdom right up to the castle doors. She then told me that I was to bathe and sleep here as well, which I attempted to decline, but she tricked me into it." She said, editing the story where need be.

"Tricked how?"

"She made a face like a wounded doe **(A/N that's my medieval style **_**Bambie eyes)**_, which I found extremely difficult to refuse." The boy nodded as if he knew all to well what she meant.

"Very well, Angel, please go inform the cook that we will have a guest for dinner."

"Yes Sir!" She saluted, giggling as she skipped off to undertake her mission.

When she was out of sight—and earshot—the boy turned to me, "Don't try anything funny," he warned.

"Are you saying I would attempt thievery from a scullery maid and her children?" Max asked, outraged.

"Scullery maid?" He asked, looking genuinely surprised.

Max flushed, that, of course, had been an assumption. "Well, I- I just thought that since Angel lived in the castle, that her mother might work here. I beg your pardon; I did not purposefully make assumptions." Max bowed her head in shame.

To her surprise, the boy was not offended, quite the opposite, he seemed delighted. He smirked at Max, "no, you did nothing wrong—raise your head. I am glad that you will not steal from us, for you see, our parents have gone out with the court on a trip over seas and we must be weary of strangers."

Max shook her head, "as you should be, there are horrible people lurking the streets of the kingdom." She was thinking of her brother, but the boy—she must learn his name—seemed to misunderstand, he frowned, looking over her dirty clothes and face.

"You must have gone through something terrible," Max almost nodded, for she had been through quite the ordeal, before she realized what he meant be that.

She shook her head, "No, no, nothing like that. I know how to defend myself quite well actually."

This seemed to peak his interest, "Really? I could use a sparing partner, would you be willing? I will keep withhold the force of my blows."

Max smirked, "There's no need, I can hold my own."

"Really?" He questioned, "I would like to see that sometime, maybe later, you are actually in great need of a visit to the baths." Max glared at him, but she couldn't deny this fact. He smirked, "The baths are on the second story, I shall escort you there and find you suitable dinner clothes and night clothes. If you leave yours by the door I will have them cleaned and delivered to your door tonight."

Max nodded, walking fast to catch up with the boy who had started walking without he knowledge. "By the way," she began as the silence became uncomfortable, "What's your name?"

He smiled again, seeming delighted, "My name is Fang." He smirked at her, "And we have reached the baths, have a nice night Hazel, I'll be in your company again come dinner time."

**What's Fang so happy about? You'll just have to wait for the next chapter to find out.**

**Okay, so I was looking through some old files on my computer and found something I had written a while ago (a year or two ago). I read it and thought the personality seemed a little bit like Max's. What do you guys think? Is it FanFiction worthy? I'm posting a few excerpts below.**

What was Matt thinking? Sending a minor to school with a gun in their backpack. Besides, what's the point? With what I can do, I don't even need a knife. That doesn't mean I don't _have_ a knife, it just means I don't really _need_ one.

Oh joy! Another day at school, the place where there teach you a thousand things that wont really make sense until you turn twenty. Excuse my negativity, school is important and it teaches you valuable life lessons, like how not to be me—trust me, I wish I took that class.

I walked through the front doors of the school, glad that it wasn't one of the fancy schools that needed metal detectors.

In between first and second period I had the sudden intense need to go to the bathroom, now normally I wouldn't go to the restroom at school, but I _had to pee._

I pushed open the girl's bathroom door with my shoulder and came face to face with Gage Black. "Holy—!" he slapped his hand over my mouth and pulled me into the bathroom.

"Shut up!" he placed a hand over my mouth. "Do you want someone to come in here?" He scolded me.

I immediately felt ashamed, but I knew not to trust my head around Gage. He was one of us, he had an extra gene. He could control peoples minds, most people would say he has telepathy, but that's not true; he can't read your mind, he can just put very persuasive thoughts in your head.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, when he removed his hand, but I was angry with him for making me feel bad.

He grinned and released his hold on my mind. I glared at him which only made his smirk grow.

"What do you want?" I asked before I could do anything stupid.

Gage scratched his head thinking before hitting it with his palm and saying, "Oh right, can I borrow your gun?"

"My gun?" I asked confused, "what do you need that for?"

He didn't answer but something in me compelled me to reach into my backpack and hand him the gun. He grinned and walked out the door, gun in hand.

I was fuming and no longer needed to use the restroom. I stormed out of the room to find Gage leaning on the wall opposite the door I was exiting. I glared at him, "What do you want?"

He smirked, holding up his hands in surrender. "Calm down, I just thought you might need this if I was taking your gun." He was holing a familiar switch blade and a leather thigh-sheath.

"What do you want me to do with that?" I asked exasperated, like I said earlier, I didn't need it, especially at school.

"It's a switch bade," he said as if explaining something to a toddler, "You push the button," he demonstrated, "and a nine inch blade comes leaping to your disposal." He's lying; the knife is only about three inches long.

When the door didn't slam I turned to see Gage leaning on the frame of the door, face impassive. "Go away," I snarled at him, keeping the left side of my waist out of his line of sight. Gage didn't move; he just stared at me with those stupid midnight eyes that made my stomach do summersaults without my permission.

He stepped over the threshold, closing the door behind him. And the weird thing? I didn't try to stop him. He kept walking and I stood, favoring my right side, my hip still out of his view.

"What happened out there?" His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. I stayed silent, backing up a step and biting my lip. He followed, taking a step forward so that I stumbled back, catching myself on the wall before he could try to help. "God dammit Zoe, _talk to me_." He ground out through clenched teeth. I looked down, a coppery taste filling my mouth as my teeth broke through the skin of my lip.

His gaze slipped down to my fresh wound and he groaned, "Zoe, _please_." I was having a hard time refusing, his eyes were staring into mind and my heart kept stepping beats as it thumped erratically in my chest.

My eye sight was obscured as something wet filled my eyes; I raised my hand to my face to wipe away—were those _tears_? I looked up at Gage and my breath caught, he was a lot closer than I thought he was. His legs were pressed against mine. I could feel the heat radiation off his body as his head came closer.

I don't think I'll ever know for sure, but I don't think it was Gage's ability that made me lean forward and met his lips with my own. My brain fizzled out as his hand went behind my neck to pull me closer. I clumsily brought my hands between us, but not to push him away, my hands fisted in his shirt and I pulled him closer.

I felt him grin against my lips as he let his hand fall to my lower back, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles as he brought me even closer—if that was possible.

I was pressed flush against him and I could feel every inch of his body pressing on mind—well, except the three inches of height he had that I didn't.

Gage was slowly moving his hands toward my hips, still rubbing those wonderful circles in my back. Them, suddenly, his lips were off mind and his body had disappeared.

I opened the eyes I hadn't realized I'd closed to find Gaga staring at me in horror. "Wha—?" I began to ask before I realized that his hands were on my hips, he pulled them back, one stained a deep red from my blood.

**What do you know, I was always bad a writing fluff. Hmm, I shouldn't be as surprised as I am… (By the way, her name is pronounced Z-O, no ie sound, I think it was short for Zoë, but I don't remember…). My first person seems weird; I'll change that to third person…**

**So? I know it's a little choppy and badly constructed, but I can rewrite and revise. It's up to you guys. Review please. I'll give you a virtual cookie *holds out cyber cookie jar.***


	4. an

**Hello wonderful people who are awesome for reading this. I know that you are all currently in the process of hating me because I haven't updated. Well, I am here to tell you why. I am at camp. Yes, so you will have to wait until weekends for my updates. I have, however, gotten most of the plot for the story sorted out. So you may bow down to me for getting off my lazy butt and doing that for you.**

**You may also notice that I am kind of acting like a witch with a b (yes I'm a whimp and won't type the real word. DEAL WITH IT). Anyway the reason is that I am staying with my aunt, uncle, and three baby cousins while I'm at camp. I have learned something, SMALL CHILDEREN GET UP **_**REALLY**_** EARLY IN THE MOREING, and they like when older people do the same. **

**And even though I know this, I refuse to go to sleep earlier than one in the morning. So I might update tonight at midnight, who thinks I should. And who thinks I should be the lazy bum that I am and just post next week?**


	5. Chapter 4

**Curse you people for not letting me be the lazy bum that I am. I should do something mean because I'm tired and cranky, so I shall leave you with a painstakingly obvious cliff hanger. MWAHAHAHA! *does Esma (SP?) from Emperor's New Groove impression* IT'S BRILLIANT I TELL YOU! BRILLIANT BRILLIANT! BRILLIANT!**

**Pull the lever Kronk!**

**Commence chapter…four? Yeah, I'm gonna go with four…**

Max was not quite prepared when she walked into the bathing rooms. The walls were made entirely of a colored glass that Max knew not the name of. The glass was fashioned in such a way that you could easily see pictures in the colored tiles. A mermaid, an angel fish and a great bird in flight. The images were not all similar but all carried a great beauty. So much so the Max forgot her purpose and was lost in the immense beauty of it all when a woman approached her, "ma'am?"

Max whirled around to face a plump motherly woman who held a washcloth over one arm. "I am here to assist you." Max opened her mouth to protest but the woman had already taken hold of the hem of her shirt and was pulling it upwards.

Caught off guard, Max hadn't the time to stop her before she found herself unclothed and beet red before she was gently pushed into a tub of warm bathwater. Despite here embarrassment she sighed as the warmth of the water relaxed her muscles far past any range of being tense—or the lack thereof—she had experienced in months, or even years, she couldn't remember.

The woman was behind her now, dumping something that smelled strongly of lavender over her head, Max coughed and spluttered as it went up her nose and in her mouth. It stung her eyes as the woman began to scrub all of the muck out of her hair.

Max shivered as she was pulled out of the water. The woman handed her a bundle of clothes and hurried away to attend to another. Max unwrapped the bundle to find, not her own clothes, but a light blue dress that had a black scarf that she was to tie around her waist.

She dressed herself as best she could with her limited knowledge of formal attire. She glanced around the empty room before attempting a simple charm that she had learned in her first year of Majik study. With a quick mumbling of indiscernible words under her breath she found herself with dry hair that would have taken a half hour at least if she had sat and wrung it out.

She exited the bathing room to find herself in and empty hall. She bit her lip. She wasn't scared; it was just off being in unknown surroundings with no one around to help you. Not that she needed help. She could find the guest chambers on her own. So she set off to do so.

She thought for a moment before doing another spell, this one to change the color of her eyes. With her new brown eyes, she set off down the hall in search of the quest quarters.

In the end, Max could not find the guest rooms, not that she would ever admit to that. She did, however, find Angel who skipped merrily to her side. "Hello, Hazel, you look a lot different not." Max smiled at Angel's misuse of the words.

"Yes, how are you fairing? Have you kept out of the way and entertained yourself?"

Angel nodded vigorously. Grabbing Max's hand, she spoke again, "Come with me, Hazel. Dinner will be starting soon."

She led Max through two wings of the castle before opening a large door and pulling Max through. "This is the dinning hall." She announced as she ushered Max over to a seat in the middle of a long table. But no one else was sitting there, in fact, it was such a long table, but there were only four chairs. One on either end, and two facing each other in the middle.

**(A/N I fell asleep here XD)**

Angel dashed over to the foot of the table, heaving herself onto the tall chair. Her posture was very good, her pin straight back, combined with the height of the chair made her look about as tall as Max.

The hair on the nape of Max's neck rose as the door opened silently. Her head whipped around to reveal Fang. He was neatly dressed in dinner attire, his posture matching Angel's as he towered over Max to his seat.

His eyes lingered on hers and she froze, checking her charm to see if her eyes had changed back to their true color. They hadn't. Why was he staring at her? She didn't know.

He took his seat at the head of the table. The moment he sat three serving maids came in through an adjoining door that led to the kitchen. They each carried a lidded silver tray, which was set in front of each of them; Fang, Angel, and 'Hazel.'

The covers on the trays were removed to reveal a brown soup that was tinged slightly red with seasoning. With a quick bow the servers left, leaving the delicious smell of soup in their wake.

Max looked at the soup warily. She didn't know what fine cuisine tasted like. She wouldn't be able to pick out anything that didn't belong. They wouldn't try to poison her, would they? She didn't know…

Angel had already eaten half of the mysterious soup. Fang had also been eating, though not as quickly Angel, he had been staring at her. Max's eyes glanced up to meet his. He nodded at her soup.

Something occurred to Max then, she hadn't been eating full meals, just scraps here and there—whatever she could find. Eating a full meal here would probably make her sick. Her stomach groaned in protest of her thoughts, Fang smirked.

Still unsure about the contents of the soup, she lifted the spoon beside the dish, filled it and put it against her lips. She did this several times, never consuming the contents, only appearing to do so.

Angel had a large grin plastered on her face as she overlooked the scene before her.

Once again the hair on Max's neck warned her of an approach. She turned her head to see an old servant hobble through the door. He held a sealed envelope under his arm; he brandished it saying, "I apologize for interrupting your diner. Never the less, Sir N—"

He couldn't finish his sentence because Fang had left his seat quite hurriedly. Taking the envelope her hurried out the door with the old man on his heal after a quick bow to the room.

**(A/N this is where it originally stopped, but it didn't update, so I'm continuing as an apology, so sorry! I hope you like the extended chapter!)**

Fang's Point of View:

Fang's eyes followed Max's movements as she sipped lightly at her soup. Angel was sitting opposite him, practically bursting with joy. She had compsed herself well enough, but Fang could see the twinkling in her eyes and the way she kept looking at Max and grinning before turning back to her soup.

Fang knew before the door opened that it was Edgar (A/N Aristicats!) who would enter. Sure enough he hobbled in, favoring his left leg and carrying an envelope. "I apologize for your diner. Never the less, Sir—" he was already out of his seat and by Edgar's side before he could continue, "N—"

He relinquished the envelope from the old man's hand and turned on his heal out the door. Edgar followed him, shutting the door behind them both. "Sir Nikolas, your parents have sent this as well," he produced a small box from the folds of his coat. "They request your reply as quickly as possible."

"Yes of coarse, thank you Edgar."

"You should also be informed that a visitor has arrived for you and is awaiting your arrival in the foyer."

"Yes, I was expecting him. Thank you." Fang's natural politeness was engraved into his mind after the fifteen years he had lived in the castle, been corrected on his every mistake.

So then, why had he interrupted Edgar in the dining room? He didn't know. Probably because he found it amusing that Hazel thought him a scullery maid's son. But there was also something blissful and surreal about the fact that she simply didn't know.

Which brought up another thought, how could she _not_ know. Since the day he was born people knew who he was. They scraped and bowed, even the people in Pune knew who he was. Though, that wasn't entirely surprising, that was where his parents were now.

Fang didn't have the time to dwell on his thoughts any longer, for he had arrived in the Foyer. A blond head was poking up from behind a couch that was facing away from him. The seated person didn't turn, only spoke the words, "Hey Fang, how's the prince life treating you?"

**Sorry again for the late update, but be happy! That was a fairly long chapter, and my painstakingly obvious cliff hanger! Wooooooooooooooo! So did you like it? Something is actually gonna happen in the next chapter! Gasp I know, but I'm trying to get some of the important background stuff in there! By the way, who knows who the person Fang was talking to in the end was? Obvious, I know, but still…**

**Well I if any of these things apply to you, or don't please review**

**You liked it**

**You hated it**

**It gave you a head ache**

**Your house is on fire**

**Your foot is on fire**

**Your fingers are all different sizes when straight but all the same when curled**

**You just did the one before this to see if it applied to you**

**You have constructive criticism**

**You realized I spelled the title wrong**

**You just checked the title**

**You're awesome and awesome people review 'cuz they know that it makes me smile stupidly at the computer and wish to see me make an embarrassing face.**

**Thank you for reading my rambling**

**Love you lots like tatter tots (just watched glee finale, had to put a reference there. Not, I wouldn't say that otherwise, cuz preps say that—no offence to preps *cough*)**

**Midnyt**

**P.S. Panic! at the Disco**


	6. EXERPT!

**EXERPT TIME! Hey, I'm really behind on updates cuz I cant get past this one part that I confused myself on, so to keep you from exploding (and to keep the green unicorn that one of you threatened me with away, I'm putting this excerpt from the next chapter up.**

Fang sighed, "honestly Ig, you are a Lord. What would your Mum say if she heard your coarse language?"

Iggy looked at his companion incredulously "Oh, I beg your pardon _Sir,_" his tone was serious, but humor dripped form his words. "You know as well as I that my _mother_ could not pry herself away from her new husband long enough to care about my vernacular."

Fang could not deny this, but in attempts to keep his friend in good humor he spoke, "to what do I owe this annoyance?" Harsh words aside, Fang's eyes twinkled with amusement.

A shadow crossed Iggy's pale face, "there has been an assassination."

Fang frowned, this had been happening quite a lot since the royal couple had announced their engagement. "Who was killed?"

Iggy measured Fang's expression for a moment before saying, "your fiancé."

**Please don't kill me! I know it's short, but it's all I can put up without confusing you because I cant get the wording I the next part right, but I WILL GIVE YOU A SPOILER (SPOILER ALLERT) Beginning's for Faxness in the next chapter, and Iggy thinks Max is a prostitute…oh Iggy, only you…**


	7. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry! I keep meaning to post but I get distracted.**

Fang sighed, "Honestly Ig, you are a Lord. What would your Mum say if she heard your coarse language?"

Iggy looked at his companion incredulously "Oh, I beg your pardon _Sir,_" his tone was serious, but humor dripped form his words. "You know as well as I that my _mother_ could not pry herself away from her new husband long enough to care about my vernacular."

Fang could not deny this, but in attempts to keep his friend in good humor he spoke, "to what do I owe this annoyance?" Harsh words aside, Fang's eyes twinkled with amusement.

A shadow crossed Iggy's pale face, "there has been an assassination."

Fang frowned; this had been happening quite a lot since the royal couple had announced their engagement. "Who was killed?"

Iggy measured Fang's expression for a moment before saying, "your fiancé."

~!~

Max's eyes drooped as her full stomach put her in a daze. Angel, who had moved her chair so that she sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Max, was still practically oozing excitement.

Angel took Max by the hand and led her out of the dinning hall and into an unfamiliar wing of the castle. The servants' wing? Max was too tired to realize that the hallway furnishings were too extravagant to be in a servant's wing. "You'll tuck me into bed, wont you Hazel?" Angel's words stunned Max into a hazy reality.

"Hmm?" Max processed her words for a moment, "sure, Angel. Why not?"

The young girl beamed. Leading Max **(A/N let me give you a bit of advice. SAVE YOUR WORK ALL THE TIME! I had seven pages typed and my PC shut down for updates. Now this was the last time I saved, do you feel my pain? This is why I didn't update a few days ago as I had intended. So it is actually not my fault! Grrrr…. I am extremely irritated at the moment. So I will try to rewrite it as best I can but I don't remember everything. Grr.) **down a long hallway adorned in the nations colors of Scarlet and Gold (***cough cough* get it? *cough cough*) **Angel pulled Max into a room on the far end of the hallway. Angel tugged Max over to the four-poster that lay in the center of the east wall. Parallel to a matching armwar and tall mirror that reflected the two girls as Max tried to wrestle a squirming Angel into the pink and lavender masses that Max assumed were blankets.

Angel, however showed no sign of fatigue, while Max was practically unconscious as she mechanically pulled the blankets up to Angel's neck, tucking them neatly under her small form.

"Hazel," Angel grabbed the sleeve of her gown as she turned to leave, "won't you tell me a story?"

Max almost refused, but Angel looked at her with a face resembling that of a wounded animal. Her eyes glistened, and Max—for fear that the girl would cry—sat on the edge of the bed and leaned against one of the posts. "Oh, all right. Once upon a time,

"There lived a beautiful young girl," Max reached out and poke Angel's nose with her finger, "she was beloved by many, but none loved her so much as her brother. Her brother was a handsome man, who stole many a young girl's heart. He was often asked for his hand in marriage. But he declined every time saying, 'I am terribly sorry, but I can love no woman more than I love my sister.'

"He spoke the truth you see, because he felt as if he was more than the young girl's brother. Their parents, you see, were royalty, so they were often away from home, leaving behind their two loving devoted children.

"Do not misunderstand; they did not spend such a great deal of time away because they disliked their children, quite the opposite in fact. You see, the King and Queen were quite fond of their children, but they knew that it would be selfish of them to ignore their duties to be with their beloved children. So they left, each lunar cycle they would come home on the third moon and leave once more on the fourth.

"But do not pity the strange family, for that day they spent together every lunar cycle was one filled with merriment and elation. And the next night, without fail, the two children would see their parents off with a smile and wave until they could no longer see the horses.

"Then one day, she the two eagerly awaited their parent's return, they where greeted by a messenger who brought a message from their father. They were to come with the messenger at once to visit their mother. Who had fallen rather ill. Their father had hoped that the sight of her children might make her strong enough for treatment.

"Whether or not that would have worked would never be known, you see. By the time the siblings had arrived at their mother's sickbed, it was already too late. She was covered by a white sheet that hid even her face from the devastated two.

"Their father tried to keep them in order, he did things just as he did when he was with mother, this did not please the brother, he thought it an insult to his mother's memory. The girl tried to do as her father did, hiding her sorrows in the work of a daily routine. This upset the brother more, so much so that he began to disappear for days at a time.

"His once bright and shining eyes became dull and sunken. The smell that the small girl had always known, coffee and peppermint, was replaced with a stench of stale tabaco and old whisky.

"One day, while the brother had been out for over a day, several burly men came to their door. They didn't knock. They kicked down the door and demanded money. The spoke of the debt that the brother owed them. The king as home at the time and knew that the only money was in the treasury, and that belonged to the people. When he didn't give them the gold they asked, they—" Max's voice cut off in a sob. She didn't know when she stopped making the story up. Another sob racked its way up her spine.

Angel was asleep, Max hoped she drifted while she was talking of the happy times the family had. Tears brewed in her eyes, but none were shed. Max exited the room, wondering aimlessly through the halls until she passed a door that held itself ajar.

Max knocked on the wood of the door, to warn any occupants of her entry. "Dare I ask who you be?"

The voice startled the girl and she stumbled back a bit, "Excuse me? Who's there?" Max winced at the sound of her own voice, rough and husky from crying.

A hand lazily razed itself over the back of a couch in the middle of the room. It was facing the hearth, so Max couldn't see the occupant. "My name is James, and yours?"

"I am Hazel," Max lied easily, her voice still raw. "I'm afraid I can't find my way to the room I'm supposed to be in. can you direct me?"

James furrowed his brow for a moment before the most ridicules look crossed his face. "Yes, yes, the room is down the hall, seven doors on your right."

Max thanked him and walked blindly to the room, not bothering to look where she was going, she flung herself with perfect aim onto bed, fatigue washed over her and she was asleep at once.

~!~

**James' Point of View**

The girl with the husky voice left. James was curious as to why his friend had suddenly taken an interest. When he had offered before, Fang had declined in a less than polite manner. But for him to suddenly hire a trollop, well, that _is_ something.

That two faced son of a jackal. (**Anyone know what that's from?)** He will never live thisdown James vowed. Oh the fun he will have.

**Oh Iggy, you're so awkward XD so yeah, anyone who didn't get that, he thinks Max is a prostitute. So yeah, sorry for the late update, reason stated above.**

**As always reviews make the world go 'round**


	8. CALM DOWN!

**A/N okay, I know you guys are mad, but I WILL UPDATE either tonight or tomorrow. So you can thank those of you who went to a pervious chapter and told me to update, cuz I forgot. Don't blame me! I have school work that I don't do. **

**Anyway…sneak peak time for you wonderful people who haven't given up on me yet, I'll post the new chapter over this one so I don't know if it'll notify you…**

Max awoke to a warm breeze on the back of her neck. _Did I fall asleep in the hazel tree again? _she wondered. Cracking her eye open a miniscule amount, she took in her surroundings.

Dark drapes covered the windows casting an eerie darkness over the room. She could vaguely see the outline of a dressing table to her right and a wardrobe against the wall opposite her. Tapestries hung from the walls, though she was at a loss for what patterns adorned them.

"Excuse me," came a soft voice as a tiny woman pushed open the door. A glint caught Max's eyes, drawing her attention to the ornimentary swords that marked royalty hanging behind her. Max was still puzzling over them as the maid pulled the curtains, shedding light to many things.

Max quickly changed her eye color back to brown-as she knew all magic dispelled as the user slept a startled gasp drew her attention to the startled maid who was staring at her. Max cocked her head in a questioning gesture. The maid, in turn looks from Max to the bed before stammering an apology and rushing out of the room.

Brow furrowed, Max looked around to see what had startled the maid.

Then she saw it. Or rather, _him._

**Oh, poor Max, everyone thinks she's a prostitute. More Iggy in this chapter! I tweeked it a bit to make it a sneak peek, if you like this I'll just leave it and continue from here, you didn't miss much, just ax being weird and describing stuff….**


	9. Chapter 6

Max awoke to a warm breeze on the back of her neck. _Did I fall asleep in the hazel tree again? _she wondered. Cracking her eye open a miniscule amount, she took in her surroundings.

Dark drapes covered the windows casting an eerie darkness over the room. She could vaguely see the outline of a dressing table to her right and a wardrobe against the wall opposite her. Tapestries hung from the walls, though she was at a loss for what patterns adorned them.

"Excuse me," came a soft voice as a tiny woman pushed open the door. A glint caught Max's eyes, drawing her attention to the ornimentary swords that marked royalty hanging behind her. Max was still puzzling over them as the maid pulled the curtains, shedding light to many things.

Max quickly changed her eye color back to brown-as she knew all magic dispelled as the user slept a startled gasp drew her attention to the startled maid who was staring at her. Max cocked her head in a questioning gesture. The maid, in turn looks from Max to the bed before stammering an apology and rushing out of the room.

Brow furrowed, Max looked around to see what had startled the maid.

Then she saw it. Or rather, _him._

Right beside her the whole time, even shared a bed with her! It was the boy from the previous day; Fang. Why he had shared her bed Max didn't know. Then she noticed that the window was shut.

_What then_, she wondered, _woke me up?_

Then it all became harshly apparent. He had been breathing on her neck! The nerve! Why that…that…

"You Acorn!" Max didn't know she was shouting until the boy had jolted into a sitting position.

"What?" His mind was muddled with sleep, "Miss, calm down. What troubles you?" He seemed as shocked as she, though not quite as conscious.

"_What troubles me?_ You! Why are you here? Have you no shame? Barbaric! Loathsome! Butt-Faced Miscreant!" **(A/N anyone…? Anyone..? Bueller..? Bueller..?) **Max shouted insults at his stunned face.

No sooner than Max had called him an insult to humanity had realization dawned on Fang. And her laughed! He laughed long and hard, far more than Maxcould stand as she began bludgeoning him repeatedly with a pillow.

"You—you misunderstand," he choked out between bursts of uncontrollable laughter. "You see, _you_ were the one who fell asleep in _my_ quarters." He sent peels of laughter at her furrowed brow.

Max would have flushed if she had not been so irritated. "That—that matter is irrelevant! You should never—what do you mean _your_ quarters? I was told that this was where I was to stay!"

"And who, pray tell, told you _that?_" he scoffed.

"That blind man in the parlor." Fang Choked.

"Why would he tell you—" And then Fang knew why, blast it! "I am sorry, he surely ment this as a Hokes, though what mind of humor I cannot fathom."

Max opened her mouth to demand a better explanation, but the slamming of a door wrenched her attention away.

"Fang! Fang, Hazel's gone! Someone took her away!" Angel shouted from outside the door.

Fang laughed as he went to open his door, Max took several steps away from the bed. He opened the door to reveal a frantic looking Angel.

"She—she wasn't in her room and—" she was close to tears.

"Angel calm down, she's here." Fang cooed, pulling Max from behind the door.

"Angel, calm down," Max's voice was stern but her eyes were soft. "Shh," she cooed pulling Angel into her arms. "I'm here, Fang's here, no one's been taken."

"But—but my dream, you weren't and—"

"Sweet, everyone's fine, no one's ill, no one's hurt, wipe your tears and change for breakfast."

Angel nodded her head running the sleeve of her slip across her face to dry it. She pulled Max with her to her rooms.

There were two gowns laid out across the duvet; one a pale rosy hue and the other a dark lavender satin. Since the rose colored one was considerably smaller, Max figured it was for Angel. For that, she was considerably grateful—it had far too many frills and enough lace to supply a tailor shop for a year.

Angel shoved the satin into Max's hands before pushing her behind a rice-paper changing partition in the corner of the room. The gown weighed more than Max expected so she put it on quickly using her entire body to help hold the tresses. She placed the nightgown across the top of the partition before stepping out.

She was greeted by an already fully clothed Angel jumping up and down excitedly. She was a ball of pink fabric with arms and a head topped with curls as long as her dress.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Angel pulled Max out of the room and down the hall to another hall that ended in a flight of stairs and another hall that led to the foyer. Then another till Max lost count and they somehow arrived in the dining hall. Except that this time there was someone with Fang as Angel took her seat after dragging Max to hers.

"Angel," The visitor greeted, "and you've brought a friend, a bit heavy are we?" **(A/N I don't know if this is ever really explained but Iggy ment that Max was too heavy to be Angel's size. He thought she was younger.) **It took a moment for Max to realize that the man was talking to her. Heavy? Max was quite the opposite, she was so skinny she barely passed as human, much less female, but there wasn't much she could do about that.

"Um, no Sir, I don't think so?"

"Sir? Hear that Fang? I'm a sir. You should really start treating me like one." He said crossing his arms and dramatically glaring at the man who sat at the head of the table.

"As soon as you start acting like one." Fang promised as platters of food were brought out into the hall.

**A/N Bali bali bali ba that's all folks. That's all for today/tonight. I will update more frequently. Sorry for the loooonnnggg wait, I have no excuses. **

**Also I'm gonna have a cover contest where you can submit any covers you think will go with the story, just put the title and my username (or not, whatever) I'll place three of my favorites as first second and third place. First will become the cover. And all three places will get a sneak peak. The deadline for this contest will be July 20th thank you.**

**As always I'm a review junkie.**


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